L'abyssale incompétence des élites françaises à diriger un collectif *

The game is over. The postmortem continues. With thanks to Romuald in Guadaljara, below is a link to a suite of analyses on France's dramatic performance and exit from the World Cup in Le Monde, France's incomparable daily

The featured writing by a number of savvy French intellectuals is brilliant, insightful, alarming – in the best sense of the word – and ultimately challenging.

"Mondial: un fiasco français à l'image d'un monde changeant? **

* roughly translated: "The unfathomable inablility of French elites to lead a collective.']

** roughly translated: "World Cup: a French fiasco in the image of a changing world?"

"French press hammer Les Bleus," a June 23 article on ESPN's Soccernet, reports on the savaging of the team by France's Fourth Estate, but fails to report on the deep social questioning triggered by the events in South Africa.

[graphic from Google image search for 'French les Bleus' from "Taxi for Les Bleus - Sarkozy fails to halt French revulsion; French president ordered France to redeem themselves in crucial final match against South Africa. They lost, 2-1," a June 22 article the U.K.'s Guardian. Caption; 'The final humiliation: France's Yoann Gourcuff, No 8, is shown a red card by referee Oscar Ruiz. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Action Images."]